Is this sentence grammatically correct and readable?

Question

I came across a sentence puzzling me, can you tell me whether the use of "that of" parts is correct? why or why not.

"You have been working here for 10 years, do you really need me to tell you whether your behavior is that of bad or that of good?"

Can I just say "...whether your behavior is bad or good"? Thank you in advance!

jimm101 · Accepted Answer

The phrase that of is incomplete without a noun, at least in common usage.  The bad and good are adjectives.  So yes,

"...is bad or good"

is appropriate.  To keep the of (which you don't need), you could say something like

"... that of a bad person or that of a good person"

but there no need.

Xoe · Answer

Yes, the sentence is grammatically correct, I guess the person who wrote it was just trying to sound fancy. I would've used something like, "is that of good or bad nature" or just anything to add a little something to it so that it is not so hard to read. It is grammatically correct though.

Answered by Xoe on August 17, 2021

Is this sentence grammatically correct and readable?

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